All over Christendom today is PALM SUNDAY, in our parish coconut branches of all shapes designs and sizes are all around being waved and blessed before and after the mass.
In other countries where there are no palms, used are the most common local tree branches from olive branches , yew, willow etc.
What does Palm Sunday tell us :
-to receive Jesus with Joy! we need to have joy in our hearts despite our sacrifices, trials and sufferings, joy should always be there radiating in our hearts because Jesus is there. Only in having and accepting Jesus will you have that inner joy.
Jesus rode to Jerusalem on a donkey, he did not select a horse which during those times were a symbol of war and used for battles, but specifically asked for a donkey, a symbol of peace,humility and loneliness.
-we should not lose our peace, in our hearts , true enough, we have so many worries that we lose peace, we have no peace, we need to reconcile ourselves with God, this is the time to reconcile with God,to reconcile with other people, until there are people you do not forgive in the past you cant lose the chains that bind you.
"only with a forgiving heart do you achieve true peace"
we want happiness and a peaceful life, BUT only with Jesus will we have it.
-to learn to be gratful, we almost always resort to complaining to Jesus, ask Him a gazillion prayer petitions,and yet most often than not after a request, after a prayer we have long been asking is granted, we fail to thank God properly. Even in trials and suffering we must remember to thank God.
Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you."
Mary Stevenson
this poem reminds us,in sadness, in suffering, in pain, in loneliness, that the LORD is carrying us
and as followers of Jesus, may the Palms we carry home symbolize that we need to always have that joy, peace and gratitude.
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